Understand
The North West Highlands Geopark (http://www.northwest-high...) a European and UNESCO Geopark. A geopark is a region with a great geological heritage and various ways by which the geology is explained to the visitor, for instance by visitor centres or geological trails. There are at present 32 European Geoparks all endorsed by UNESCO. See the website of the European Geopark Network (http://www.europeangeopar...) for other European Geoparks.
The North West Highlands Geopark is a geological wonderland: the rocks range from the 3 billion year old Lewisian Gneiss to the Torridonian Sandstone which makes up the spectacular mountains such as Ben More Coigach, Suilven and Quinag. White quartzite caps many mountains and the largest area of limestone in Scotland occurs in the Geopark. For geologists, however, the most famous feature is the Moine Thrust, a large geological fault that attests to the vast forces that built the Caledonian Mountain Range, some 400 million years ago. Much more recently, during the Ice Age, vast glaciers sculpted the mountains and valleys as we see them today.
The geological history and the way that geological processes shaped the landscape is explained in various visitor centres and road side panels. The visitor can also learn more on guided walks during the summer months.
